


Tokyo Blood Pudding

by OperaOtaku



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Gen, Gore, Puppies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 11:55:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2811107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OperaOtaku/pseuds/OperaOtaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ward is a closed echosystem; people go in and out, but the dead don’t. Or: a good human blood pudding recipe for Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tokyo Blood Pudding

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EvilMuffins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this Yuletide gift, dear EvilMuffins!

It’s snowing early this year. With some luck, there could be some accumulation on the ground for Christmas. For now, it melts and only leaves a thin slippery layer of half-frozen ice on the pavement. It cracks softly as Kaneki walks in the Tokyo crowd. The people around him probably can’t hear it, though. It’s another thing that changed over the past few years; at first he thought his hearing had just gotten better, now he can hear things that are not even _supposed_ to be heard.

He stands an inch or two above most people; it’s a good thing he finally stopped growing, standing out too much is never a good idea for a ghoul. But stand out he does, even though he doesn’t realize it.

A student is walking in a straight line towards him, his eyes riveted on his smartphone. He could sidestep, but that would prove too fast for a regular human. He lets him bump into him and nearly drops his bag of provisions - vegetables and two packs of neatly wrapped meat, one small, one big - on the ground. He apologizes politely and smiles. His smile is his main weapon these days. In times of peace, a smile and big honest eyes are enough to get you out of most troubles. The teenager blushes and hesitates a millisecond before disappearing into the crowd.

In the distance, he hears the screech of a car lose control, slamming the breaks and hitting something, something that sounded alive. There is a slight pause, then he hears a wet thud on the pavement and the distinctive snap of broken bones. They really need to change the sync of those lights, he thinks. That’s the fourth pedestrian hit at that precise spot this year. He knows. His hand reflexively goes to the hidden pocket inside his winter jacket, where he keeps his mask. It’s broad daylight, he won’t be harvesting that body today, it would lack tact and respect.

The ward is a closed ecosystem. People go in and out, but the dead don’t. Human bodies are eaten, ghoul’s are turned into quinxes. In this ecosystem, ghouls are scavengers, and the occasional troublemaker is taken care of by his fellow ghouls. That is the tacit agreement of the fragile truce between humans and ghouls. No one wants to relive the war.

 

Speaking of troublemakers… a young man is trying to pick up a group of girls ahead. He prances around them as he catcalls one in particular. _People still do that?_ Kaneki thinks. The young man is clearly a ghoul, he can masquerade as a human, but for Kaneki, his smell is too distinctive to pass for anything else. The girls just think he’s a potential rapist… which isn’t much better, let’s face it.

 

“You should make an example of him, you know,” whispers Rize, “you’re faster than before, a lot stronger too. You could snatch him up right here, right now, and no one would know. You could tear his limbs one by one, hang him by the skin on a lamp post, break his back and leave his kagune exposed. Open him up and leave him as an offering for the doves.”

 

Kaneki is cracking his fingers, he tries to remain in control. “It’s been a while since you’ve eaten anything alive," Rize continues, "you’re getting soft. You have something dear you want to protect at home. How can you protect him if you can’t even maintain peace in your ward?” Her voice keeps taunting him. He’s come to terms with his friendly ghost. He doesn’t have to agree with everything she says, but she’s right that he has to step in.

Keneki slowly puts himself between the group and the ghoul.

 

“I don’t wish to kill you, can you get out of my ward?” Kaneki asks nicely. The ghoul’s chest puffs in defiance and he takes a big breath before stopping all movement and opening his eyes wide. Kaneki stands tall, his white hair contrasting almost comically with his black clothes. He looks peaceful and open; he looks like a nice guy, all in all. There’s just something that seems off. His smile is soft, yet there is something contained and threatening in his relaxed demeanour.

 

Kaneki sees the realization hit the troublemaker like a truck: _White ghost, Eye patch, Haise, Cannibal, Kakuja, Centipede!_

 

Kaneki breaks the awkward silence first, “Um… move along?” and that’s all it takes for the man to make a run for it, screaming in a high pitched voice as he stumbles to make his way into the crowd.

Kaneki gets a silent “thank you” from the girl who was being harassed. He also gets a stare from those who wonder what he just said to the guy to make him run. A girl definitely looks at his ass as he walks away, but he doesn't see that.

The rest of the walk home is uneventful and Kaneki is glad. Rize still objects and calls for a holy sacrifice on the altar of his absolute rule, for a sea of blood - she has a thing for drama! -, but he turns her volume down. He can ignore her if he wants to now, sort of.

He removes his shoes and enters home. He is greeted by a large excited Samoyed dog. Kaneki was less than pleased when Tsukiyama bought the puppy as a joke, saying it would match Kaneki’s hair, but he’s grown attached to the big clumsy thing. Kaneki sits on the floor to pet it. The dog turns excitedly on himself, wagging his tail straight into Kaneki's face. 

 

“Bonjour mon amour” chimes Tsukiyama from the kitchen. For someone who can’t eat normal food, he seriously spends way to much time in there. Kaneki can hear him talking to himself as he cooks : "Four cups of fresh human blood, two cups of human fat, a cup of human milk, two and a half tablespoons of salt - made from dried tears, no one appreciates the effort I had to make to procure some of those ingredients, I swear... - half a cup of human liver... Honey do you have the liver?" he asks loudly.

"Yes, I bought it!" says Kaneki as he tries to push away the dog sniffing at his bag. He unwraps the small package of meat and gives it to the dog. He gets an excited "fnuff" sound as his reward.

 

"Are you feeding human flesh to the dog again?" asks Tsukiyama, "You know he almost ate the mailman yesterday?"

 

"... no?" answers Kaneki.

 

"No what? You're not giving him human flesh again, or you didn't know he almost ate the mailman?"

 

 

By then, Kaneki is in the kitchen and is trying his best not to laugh. Tsukiyama is sporting an apron... and nothing else. He puts the liver on the counter, throws the vegetables in the trash distractedly, and wraps his arms around Tsukiyama's slender frame. He buries his face in the base of his neck. Suddenly the dog seems so much less important to Tsukiyama. He can feel Kaneki's warmth on his back, and strong arms squeeze him tight, and everything is just the way it's supposed to be.

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this fic features an actual blood pudding recipe... though usually not made from human parts. You'd also need oatmeal, but I couldn't think of a substance coming from the human body that could do the same thing.


End file.
